High vacuum distillation apparatus



Oct. 10, 1950 D. A. FEIL HIGH vAcuuu DIsfrILLArIoN APPARATUS Z-Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Dec. 26. 1947 INVENToR emafAj ATTORNEY D. A. FEM. 2,525,025 HIGH VACUUM DISTLLATION APPARATUS 2 Sheets-Sheet` 2 [2 rlI//l/l//l/l/l//l ,l

Oct. l0, 1950 Filed Dec. 26. 194'?` Patented Oct. 10, 1950 HIGH VACUUM lsma'rron APPARATUS nemm- A. reu, smoel-,1a. Y.,- asnznor to Ainsa Chemical & Dye Corporation, New York, N. Y., a corporation of New York 4 Application Decembcrhzt, 1947, Serial No. 793,863

2 Claims. (CL202-205) i The present invention relates to distillation apparatus, and more particularly to high vacuum unobstructed path distillation apparatus.

It is an object of this invention to provide aA high vacuum still having exceptionally high distillation capacity and this with minimum pressure drop and a minimum of liquid entrainment by the vapors generated within the still when leaving the still. By pressure drop is meant the difference in pressure between the vapor pressure near the bottom of the still and that near the vapor outlet at or close` to the top of the still.

Another object is to provide a still which is simple in design, relatively inexpensive to construct and maintain and efficient in operation.

A further object is to provide a still for the distillation of materials which tend to decompose and the curtain or spray of liquidV produced by the distributor unimpeded by bailles or other obstructions.

when subjected to elevated temperatures. for example, materials such as alkyl benzenes produced by condensing a benzene hydrocarbon, such as benzene, toluene, etc., with a halogenated polycomponent, non-aromatic hydrocarbon mixture, as, for example, a. chlorinated kerosene fraction in the presence of aluminum Achloride or other Friedel and Crafts condensing agent, which still eiects the distillation of such material with a minimum of decomposition producing undesired degradation products.

Other objects and advantages of this inventionv will be apparent from the following detailed description thereof.

In accordance with this invention the still comprises a squat housing, e. g., a cylindrical housing having a diameter substantially greater than its height. This housing desirably has an inclined bottom provided with a centrally disposed liquid outlet, and has the side walls and-bottom heated, e. g., jacketed to provide for flow of a heating A baie is preferably positioned in front of the vapor outlet to remove en- -trained liquid from the vapors flowing into vthis outlet. This baille. in the preferred embodiment, is the only obstruction in the path of flow of the vapors produced in the still to the vapor outlet,

which communicates through a condenser with a vacuum pump.

The design of the still hereinabove described results in improved wetting of the heated surface with liquid to be distilled with consequent improvement in use of the available heating'area and in the distillation capacity of the still. Further it shortens the period of exposure of the distilland to elevated temperatures, mimmizing undesired decomposition thereof. Moreover it results in relatively low vapor velocities within the still eliminating the necessity of employing an enlarged entrainment space at the top of the still or other devices for entrainment separation which greatly increase the cost of the still. By dimensioning the housing as herein dismedium through the jacket to heatI the side walls and bottom. A distributor is positioned near the top of the housing for introducing the distilland uniformly distributed throughout the top in the form of a sheet. illm or spray, which -vstrikes the heated side walls near the top thereof, the unvaporized liquid flowing downwardly along the heated side walls. A baie, such as a helical baille, is positioned on the bottom to provide an extended path through which unvaporized liquid flows before reaching the bottom outlet, thereby insuring maximum vaporization of the liquid. The interior of the housing below the distributor and above the baille on the botto-m is preferably devoid of obstructions. Accordingly, the vapors produced in the still in flowing to the vapor outlet pass through the falling liquid particles Y pressure drop takes place.

closed and by having the housing completely unobstructed, except for the baille disposed immediately in front of the vapor outlet, a minimum This is a very important factor in the distillation of easily decomposable materials, such as keryl benzenes, which in order to avoid excessivel decomposition must be distilled at absolute pressures below 20 mm. of mercury and preferably below 5 mm.

In the accompanying drawings forming a p art of this specication and showing for purposes of exemplification preferred forms of this invention without limiting the claimed invention to such illustrative instances, Figure 1 is a vertical section through a still embodying this invention;

Figure 2 is a horizontal section taken in a plane passing through line 2-2- of Figure l;

Figure 3 is a vertical section through a modified form of still embodying this invention; and

Figure 4 is a, horizontal section taken in a plane passing through line 4-4 of Figure 3.

Referring to the drawings I0 indicates' the housing vof the still comprising cylindrical side walls I I is substantially greater, i. e., at least twice as great as the vertical height of the side walls II, desirably this diameter is 3 or 4 times the height of the vertical side walls. v

A heating jacket I5 supplies heat to side walls II and bottom I3; this heating jacket, as shown in Figure 1, extends from near the top of the side walls II downwardly along these side walls to a point close to the discharge outlet I4. Thisl heating jacket is provided with top inlets I6 for supplying a heating medium, such as steam or a mixture of biphenyl and diphenyl oxide, which is circulated through the jacket and withdrawn through outlet II.

Conical bottom I3 is inclined at a small angle to the horizontal, as shown in Figure 1, preferably this angle of inclination is less than 30 to the horizontal. A helical baiiie I 3 is positioned on the bottom, for example, by welding the lower edges of a helical metal strip to the bottom to provide a helical path I9 leading from the side walls II to the discharge outlet I4. Instead/of the continuous helical baffle disclosed in Figures 1 and- 2, a discontinuous or interrupted baille may be employed to provide interconnected paths of flow for the material passing over the heated bottom from the side walls to the discharge outminimum number of turns of the spiral baille I8 is required to insure maximum coverage of the heated bottom by the distilland flowing thereover; also the distilland is caused to flow over the heated bottom in a shallow stream approachlng film thickness, facilitating heat transfer and promoting vaporization.

Top I2 of the still is provided with a vapor outlet 20. Positioned immediately in front of outlet 23 is a dished baille 2I suitably secured as by spaced straps 22 having one end welded to the baiiie 2| and the other end to the top I2 and providing openings or spaces 23 through which the vapors ow into the outlet 20. Batlle 2| serves to remove entrained liquid from the vapors flowing into outlet and causes this liquid to flow downwardly through the rising vapor stream.- Outlet 20 communicates through a condenser (not shown) with a vacuum pump 24 of any well known type designed to provide high vacuum, i. e., an absolute pressure less than 20 mm. of mercury, preferably less than 5 mm. of mercury, within the housing I0. At the opposite end of the top I2 of the housing from` that containing the outlet 20 a, manhole opening 25 is provided closed by a suitable cover 26 which when open permits access to the interior of the housing.

A plate 2'I is mounted on the top of cover I2 and is provided with a stuffing box 28. spaced bearings 29 and 30 are suitably'supported on the top of the housing. A shaft 3| is rotatably mounted in bearings 29 and 30 and stuffing box 28, the axis of this shaft coinciding with the longitudinal axis of housing I0. Adjustable collars 29 and 30' rest on bearings 29 and 30, respectively, support shaft 3| and permit adjusting the distance the shaft extends within housing I0. Shaft 3l has keyed to one end a driving pulley 32 and has secured to the other end disposed within housing I0 a conical distributor 33. A supply pipe 34 extends through the top I2 for supplying distilland to distributor 33.

The still hereinabove described is supported by suitable supports or legs 35 resting on a floor still.

4 or foundation and fastened to the heating jacket or other portion of the still near the top of the onical bottom.

In operation housing IIl is first evacuated by pump 24. Distributor 33 is then rotated at ahigh rate of speed by driven pulley 32 such that thrown by centrifugal force in the form of a curtain or spray extending uniformly throughout the cross sectional extent of the interior of housing III. A portion of this material is vaporized as it enters the chamber and moves through the unobstructed space within housing Ill and the remainder strikes the side walls II near the top of the jacketed portion. This material flows downwardly. along the heated side walls II and through the extended helical path I9, unvaporized material flowing continuously through the discharge outlet I4. The vapors thus produced rise through the unobstructed space within housing Ill and are scrubbed and fractionated as they pass through the curtain or spray of distilland introduced by the distributor 33 and leave housing I0 through vapor outlet 20'after removal of entrained liquid by baffle 2|. The iiow of the vapors through the curtain or spray of distilland provides considerable fractionation, low boiling constituents of the curtain or spray of liquid are volatilized by the heat of the ascending vapors and high boiling undesirable constituents of the vapors are condensed by contact with the relatively cold curtain or spray of liquid introduced into the still. The vapors passing through outlet 20 are condensed in the condenser communieating with this outlet.

' Parts of Figures 3 and 4 the same as those 'of Figures 1 and 2 have been given the same channels or openings 48 in adjacent concentric baflies are staggered, for example, asv shown in Figure 4 they may be spaced 90 apart, thus forming an extended path of travel from the side wall II to the central opening I4 through which `the unvaporized distilland ows before reaching this opening.

A cylindrical spray pipe 49 provided with nozzles 50 communicates with the liquid supply pipe 34. This spray pipe projects a spray of distilland through the nozzles 50 on to the heated side walls I l near the top of the jacketed portion of these walls, the distilland being introduced preferably preheated and under sufficient pressure to be atomized to form a curtain extending completely across the cross-sectional area of the top of housing Ill striking the heated side walls I I near the top of the jacketed portion.

It will be noted that this invention provides an exceptionally long heated path along the bottom through which unvaporized material flows before reaching the outlet I4. This promotes most eilicient use of the available heating area with consequent increase in the capacity of the It will be further noted a minimum pressure drop takes place in the operation of the still. the vapor velocities are relatively low in view of the exceptionally' large cross sectional area of the still with consequent minimum entrainment, and the desired vapors are exposed to the elevated temperatures within the still for an exceptionally short period of time in view of the short unobstructed path through which the vapors flow minimizing undesired decomposition thereof.

Since diierent embodiments of this invention can be made without departing from the scope of this invention it is intended that all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense. Thus, for example, the housing may have a concave bottom instead of the conical bottom shown. Instead of the distributors disclosed other spraying, atomizing, or analogous devices may be used for introducing the distilland to uniformly distribute same through the upper portion of the housing. Also, if desired, one or more bailies designed to provide large openings for flow of the vapors therethrough, which baffles do not seriously increase entrainment of liquid by the vapor stream,

vapor velocity -and pressure drop may be positioned into the otherwise unobstructed space below the distributor. For example, a baille may be provided just below the distributor 33 to prevent liquid from flowing directly downwardly to the central portion of the nical bottom and for causing such liquid to flow towards the side walls. As above indicated, however, it is preferred to have the space below the distributorand above the conical bottom completely unobstructed.

What is claimed is:

1. A high vacuum substantially unobstructed path distillation still comprising a squat cyl lindrical housing having vertical side walls and an inclined bottom extending from the vertical side Walls to a central outlet disposed at the center of said bottom, said housing having a diameter at least twice as great as the vertical height of said side Walls, a rotatable distributor positioned near the top of said housing centrally disposed with respect to the side walls of said housing, means for supplying distilland to said distributor, means for rotating said distributor to distribute the distilland substantially uniformly throughout the upper portion of said housing to form a curtain of distilland extending throughout substantially the entire cross sectional extent of the upper portion of said housing and into contact with the upper portion of said side Walls, a heating jacket for heating the side walls and bottom of said housing, a helical baille on the inclined bottom of said housing to provide an extended heated path leading from the side walls to said central outlet for ow through said heated path of unvaporized distilland to effect vaporization thereof, the vapors produced by the vaporization of said distilland travelling through the relatively short vertical path provided by said housing and being scrubbed and fractionated as they pass through said curtain of distilland, the interior of said housing above said helical baille and below said distributor being devoid of obstructions to the. flow of vapors generated in said housing, the top of said housing being provided with a vapor outlet, a. baille in said housing positioned in front of said vapor outlet just below said outlet and above said distributor and also above the said curtain of distilland, and means for removing vapor lncluding a vacuum pump communicably connected with said vapor outlet.

2. A high vacuum substantially unobstructed path distillation still'comprising a squat cylindrical housing having vertical side walls and a conical bottom extending from the vertical side walls to a central outlet disposed at the apex of said conical bottom, the angle of inclination of said conical bottom being less than 30 to the horizontal, said housing having a diameter at least twice as great as the vertical height of said side walls, means for supplying distilland to the upper portion of said housing, means for distributing said distilland to form a curtain of said distilland extending throughout substantially the entire cross sectional extent of the upper portion of said housing and into contact with" the upper portion of said side walls, a heating jacket for heating the side walls and base of said housing, elongated upstanding baille means on the conical bottom to provide an extended heating path leading from the side walls to said central outlet for flow through said heated path of unvaporized distilland to eiect vaporization thereof, the vapors produced by the vaporization of said distilland travelling through the relatively short vertical path provided by said housing and being scrubbed and fractionated as they pass through said curtain of distilland, the interior of said housing above said baille means and below said distributor being devoid of obstructions to the flow of vapors generated in said housing, the top of said housing being provided with a vapor outlet, a baille in said housing positioned in front of said vapor outlet just below said outlet and above said distributing means and also above said curtain of distilland, and means for removing vapor including a vacuum pump communicably connected with said vapor outlet.

DELMAR A. FEIL.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the flle of this patent:

` UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,277,931 Heuser Sept. 2, 1918 2,117,803 Hickman May 17, 1938 2,379,151 Hickman June 26, 1945 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 16,805 Great Britain Oct. 12, 1888 424,990 i France Mar. 26, 1910 14,904 France Dec. 27, 1910 (First addition to 424,990)

460,532 Great Britain Jan. 29, 1937 

